Saturday, December 17, 2011

Justice for Joe Paraskeva

by New Worker correspondent

Joe's mother with Diane Abbott

LINDA MORGAN last Saturday, along with her MP Diane Abbott,
led a demonstration to present a petition at Downing Street
calling for justice for her mentally ill son, Joe Paraskeva, who has been given
an indeterminate prison sentence.

Joe was jailed after
using an aerosol can and cigarette lighter to try to escape from a mental
health unit in which he had been sectioned in October 2010.

Even though Joe had
no previous convictions and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, he was sent to
prison, and his family have no idea when he might be released.

Joe was recently
transferred to the John Howard Centre forensic unit in Hackney, but his mother
fears he may be moved back to prison at any time.

The 6,000-signature
petition calls for Joe's case to be reviewed, for his conviction to be
overturned and for him to receive proper care, as a mental health patient,
within the NHS.

Just before the event
Ms Morgan said: "We are going to Downing Street
today not only to campaign for Joe, but to address a huge injustice in both the
NHS and the criminal justice system.

These failings allow
the most vulnerable in society to be punished rather than helped. Prison is not
a safe or therapeutic environment for people suffering with mental health problems
and should not be used as a dumping ground.

Joe's case is only
one example; there are many other families out there who have been through
similar experiences. Anyone who has a mental illness deserves to be safely
cared for, not thrown into prison."

The Justice for Joe
campaign is being supported by a number of major mental health and criminal
justice organisations including, Sane, Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, The Manic
Depressive Fellowship, YoungMinds, The Howard League for Penal Reform and The
Prison Reform Trust.